French Lick Scenic Railway

The French Lick Scenic Railway is run by the Indiana Railway Museum, which was founded in 1961 in the Decatur County town of Westport with a single locomotive and three passenger cars. The museum moved to Greensburg and then, in 1978, to French Lick after the Southern Railway deeded it sixteen miles of right-of-way running from West Baden, about a mile north of French Lick, south to the small village of Dubois. Over time the organization phased out its static museum displays — the French Lick site became a gift shop and ticket office — and concentrated on operating trains: today it runs the ten-mile stretch between French Lick and Gradman station as a heritage railroad. Excursions cover a 20-mile round trip of roughly an hour and 45 minutes through the Hoosier National Forest, with a pass through the 2,000-foot Burton Tunnel as the highlight, alongside year-round specials including a dinosaur adventure train, an Easter Bunny express, adult tasting trains, and an award-winning Polar Express.